Knowledge management in SMEs and MNCs: matching knowledge mobility mechanisms to supply network configuration profiles

Abstract

While ‘knowledge mobility’ presents significantly different challenges for SMEs and MNCs, it is strongly influenced by two common factors: the type of knowledge to be integrated and the configuration of the operations network. Here, SMEs and MNCs are required to make critical decisions about ‘levels’ of collaboration and knowledge sharing with network partners. A Knowledge Mobility Configuration (KMC) framework was developed, tested and refined using five case studies indicative of a growing shift towards information and knowledge-intensive activities. In terms of contribution, there has been limited empirical research to-date into the determinants of successful knowledge transfers in MNC-SME network contexts. The network configuration element of the KMC framework provides insights on how such networks evolve, and how specific knowledge mobility profiles may evolve over time. This more nuanced approach may be used as a basis for a proactive and differentiated approach to knowledge mobility and integration across SME and MNC networks.     

Frailty in the Old Age as a Direct Marker of Quality of Life and Health: Gender Differences

Social Indicators Research - Aging of the population emphasizes the need for research on aging-related problems, among which frailty is a key element because of its clinical as well as social...     

Temperature,climate change,and birth weight: evidence from Hungary

Population and Environment - We analyze the impact of in utero temperature exposure on the birth weight and an indicator for low birth weight using administrative data on singleton live births...     

Attachment‐facilitating interactions in non‐kin foster families

This study aims to analyse the interaction between children in foster care and their main caregivers during a microcoded co‐construction task, focusing on the verbal and non‐verbal behaviours that the adults use to promote a secure attachment in the child. It also examines how children and caregivers' socio‐demographic variables relate to the interaction. The sample is made up of 28 Spanish children between 4 and 9 years old in long‐term non‐kin foster care and their foster families. The building task was administered to 28 dyads, composed of the child and the main caregiver in each family. Our results showed that the caregivers' use of attachment‐facilitating behaviours was frequent during the interaction. Moreover, children tended to display a positive attitude when adults used these attachment‐facilitating behaviours. We also found some differences in the interaction according to the caregivers and children's age, the child's gender and the caregivers' satisfaction with the child's development. These results offer us a better understanding of the functioning of the adult–child relationships in foster families, which helps us make more efficient interventions to improve the caregivers' sensitivity towards the children's needs and difficulties.     

Adoption breakdown and adolescence

Adoption breakdown has attracted an increasing amount of attention over recent years, and studies coincide in stating that the mean age at which this phenomenon occurs is early adolescence. Nevertheless, the specific factors which influence adoption breakdown, have never been empirically explored. The aim of this article is therefore to analyse these factors by comparing cases of adoption breakdown which occurred prior to the onset of adolescence with those occurring after the beginning of this developmental stage. The study explores 69 cases of adoption breakdown occurring over the course of a decade in one Spanish region, taking into consideration variables related to the adopted children, the adoptive parents, the parent–child relationship, and the professional support services provided to these families. The results reveal a clear difference in the profile of breakdowns occurring before and after the onset of adolescence and identify a series of factors which seem to have a stronger influence in each group, such as violence, timing of problems, and unrealistic expectations regarding the child. These findings have important implications for professional adoption services, such us the importance of early identification of difficulties and the provision of support during adolescence.     

Cessation of breastfeeding in association with oxytocin administration and type of birth. A prospective cohort study

Background

Some studies have suggested an association between synthetic oxytocin administration and type of birth with the initiation and consolidation of breastfeeding.

The Psychometric Properties of the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory Using a Large-Scale Nonclinical Sample

The conceptualization of hypersexuality has begun to converge as a result of proposed diagnostic criteria. However, its measurement is still diverse. The Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI) is one of the most appropriate scales used to assess hypersexuality, but further examination is needed to test its psychometric properties among different clinical and nonclinical groups, including samples outside of the United States. The aim of the present study was to investigate the reliability and the generalizability of HBI and to determine a cutoff score on a large, diverse, online, nonclinical sample (N = 18,034 participants; females = 6132; 34.0%; M_age = 33.6 years, SD_age = 11.1). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability indices provided support for the structure of the HBI and demonstrated excellent reliability. Employing latent profile analysis (LPA), seven classes emerged, but they could not be reliably distinguished by objective sexuality-related characteristics. Moreover, it was not possible to determine an adequate cutoff score, most likely due to the low prevalence rate of hypersexuality in the population. HBI can be reliably used to measure the extent of hypersexual urges, fantasies, and behavior; however, objective indicators and a clinical interview are essential to claim that a given individual may exhibit features of problematic sexual behavior.     

Comparative analysis of aging policy reforms in Argentina,Chile, Costa Rica,and Mexico

This investigation uses case studies and comparative analysis to review and analyze aging policy in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico and uncovers similarities and relevant trends in the substance of historical and current aging policy across countries. Initial charity-based approaches to poverty and illness have been gradually replaced by a rights-based approach considering broader notions of well-being, and recent reforms emphasize the need for national, intersectoral, evidence-based policy. The results of this study have implications for understanding aging policy in Latin America from a welfare regime and policy makers’ perspective, identifying priorities for intervention and informing policy reforms in developing countries worldwide.     

From social capital to entrepreneurial orientation: The mediating role of dynamic capabilities

This paper analyzes how social capital and its three dimensions—structural, relational, and cognitive—affect entrepreneurial orientation through dynamic capabilities. We specifically analyzed the effect of each dimension of social capital on firms' entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of dynamic capabilities to explain these relationships. This study was conducted on a sample of firms in the Spanish agri-food industry. The results of the empirical analysis show that dynamic capabilities are generated by firms' social capital. Dynamic capabilities lead relational and cognitive social capital to develop a higher entrepreneurial orientation. The negative effect of structural social capital can only be countered if firms build and develop dynamic capabilities.